Workforce Development: Increasing Opportunities For Employment During The Opioid Crisis

Workforce Development: Increasing Opportunities For Employment During The Opioid Crisis

By National Association of Development Organizations

Rural Businesses Face Unique Challenges

Rural businesses typically face unique challenges to their success, such as limited educational facilities, scarce professional training programs, and less than optimal infrastructure. The widespread use of illicit substances and the consequences of prescription opioid misuse in rural communities has ushered in new and unexpected problems for rural employers. It often leads to cycles of unemployment for many prime-age workers in rural communities and long-term, severe consequences for both workers and businesses.

A rural community’s economic and social well-being is also tied to worker engagement. A strong, healthy workforce promotes business and encourages local development. High employment propels local economic activity, which in turn expands city and county revenue for public services and programs. Additionally, high workforce engagement supports community-based activities through faith-based, civic, and nonprofit organizations. Alignment of people and resources to address needs provides greater leverage leading to better outcomes for communities overall.

The most profound challenge for businesses associated with SUD is the difficulty in filling open positions with workers who can pass a standard drug test. Other challenges lie primarily in attracting and maintaining an adequate and consistently productive workforce. Finding ways to support employees who develop a substance use problem while on the job and retain the employees who struggle to maintain sobriety. Finally, finding ways to prevent employees without a SUD from falling into addiction and expanding workplace practices to include people in recovery from substance misuse.

Workplace Safety and Adverse Career Effects

Businesses experience poor productivity from employees coping with SUD because the ability to
provide dependable product and services rests on the reliability of staff and consistent operations.
Business cannot act effectively without consistent employee support, and employees grappling with
substance misuse usually underperform or fail to perform adequately in the workforce. Likewise,
employee recruitment rates suffer in a community hit by the opioid crisis. Initial drug tests disqualify several prospective hires during the screening process. Available personnel undergoing recovery also
present uncertainty because of their ability to meet job responsibilities.

Workplace safety is the highest priority for employers. Workers under the influence can jeopardize that commitment, presenting danger to themselves and others. Employers must maintain adequate staff to operate a business and may not have the luxury of giving struggling personnel time to fully recover from SUD. Workers with SUD often struggle with commitment to their employer and ability to perform tasks, especially at the incremental levels necessary to advance in their careers. Workers who underperform or prove inconsistent in job functions cannot be trusted to carry out roles and responsibilities of their positions. These disadvantages put rural businesses at risk against urban and global competition that may employ stronger teams with better resources and capable of greater innovation and productivity.

The Role of Employment in Recovery

Counties across the country are realizing that a quality workforce is one of the single most important
factors for promoting county economic competitiveness. To be successful after treatment, people in
recovery need to be part of the community—and this usually means being employed. Employment can aid those in recovery by providing purpose in their lives, establishing a reassuring sense of routine, and integrating structure that replaces negative decisions with positive choices.

However, for a person in recovery, returning to work comes with various barriers that extend beyond
the State of the job market, the level of education, or qualifications, such as stigma in the community,
impaired health, and an ever-present struggle to maintain sobriety. Finding a job after rehabilitation
or during recovery may also mean making some sacrifices to prioritize that person’s sobriety, such as
working part-time or alternative hours in order to accommodate treatment and meetings. If that person has been displaced from the workforce for some time, reentry into the job market may mean taking a lower paying opportunity.

The challenge is finding more quality programs in rural areas that connect people in recovery to employers willing to give this pool of potential employees a second chance. Employers may demonstrate empathy and support for people in recovery yet doubt the candidate’s ability to effectively and consistently carry out work responsibilities. The person in recovery needs an opportunity to show that he or she can be accountable and productive in the workplace and maintain his or her sobriety.

Rural Economic Collaboration Works

When rural leaders and business owners work together with healthcare providers and law enforcement, the community can collaboratively develop innovative solutions for connecting people in recovery to economic resources and opportunities. Collective engagement acknowledges the severity of this epic public health issue and utilizes resources more effectively than separately.

Employee recruitment and workforce training are two of the most difficult business development challenges for small communities. Ostracizing those in recovery only limits the pool of available workers. A community-wide support system led by employers and public service organizations can offer support to job seekers in recovery. Additionally, local and regional educational opportunities and skills training benefit both employers and employees. Workforce boards and related training programs can adopt curriculum and methods that acknowledge the effects of addiction. Service providers can better assist those in recovery to gain skills and improve job prospects.

For example, Pennsylvania community leaders joined together to form Somerset County Recovery and
Reentry Center, which connects treatment, skills training, and employers to support job seekers in
recovery. The initiative grew out of a lack of qualified workers and the community’s desire to help people with a SUD with sustainable employment. The program relies on a strong partnership between area employers, treatment providers, law enforcement, and the workforce development board. Participants in the program follow guidance provided by addiction counselors in various stages from skills training to employment. Employers accept people enrolled in treatment and training who maintain good standing. Many employers even provide compensation through training and skills development for eligible workers in their respective fields.

Engagement on SUDs requires comprehensive awareness of the health, environment, economic, and
social aspects of this complex issue as well as the community impact. For example, in West Virginia,
Mercer County’s assessment of its economic and social status revealed a number of issues specific
to the locality, impacting economic development, community well-being, and overall quality of life
including the use of illicit substances and prescription opioid misuse. Broad-based assessments of
this type allows employers to better understand the root causes of addiction and can help increase
local business efforts to prepare outreach and skills training for job seekers in recovery.